Getting species added to the state\u2019s noxious species list isn\u2019t easy. Any proposed plant must meet five criteria to be designated. For species that are already in Hawai`i, designation helps to provide the legal authority to control them, including a right-of-entry.<\/p>\n
Unless the species meets specific reproduction, growth, impact, control, and distribution thresholds, it can\u2019t be added to the list.<\/p>\n
For example, if an invasive species in Hawai`i has broad distribution or isn\u2019t an incipient population spanning less than five acres, it can\u2019t be designated as a noxious weed.<\/p>\n
Because of such criteria, very few species are added to the list, says Becky Azama, noxious weed specialist for the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n
Although she gets two to three requests a year, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in the works right now,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Most recently, she\u2019s received requests to add mangrove, guinea grass, and the Australian tree fern to the list, but they\u2019ve made little headway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are pests in their own areas, they have their problems, but when you look at what criteria they have to fit in, they don\u2019t qualify,\u201d she says. \u201cA lot of people make suggestions, we tell them the requirements and documentation needs, then we don\u2019t hear from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She adds that the DOA did add the coqui frog, fire ant, and nettle caterpillar to the list on its own accord.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s something that would be pressing, we wouldn\u2019t have to wait. We can do it, if there\u2019s a need, depending on resources,\u201d she says, noting that her department has lost half of its staff.<\/p>\n
Teresa Dawson<\/b><\/p>\n
Volume 22, Number 3 — September 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Getting species added to the state’s noxious species list isn’t easy. Any proposed plant must meet five criteria to be designated. For species that are already in Hawai`i, designation helps to provide the legal authority to control them, including a … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-september-2011"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}